ATLANTA -- Ira Katz bustles at his pharmacy in Atlanta's Little Five Points neighborhood this cough season, serving patients who need medicine for respiratory viruses like COVID-19. He dispenses occasional packages of Paxlovid, a drug designed to nip COVID in the bud. But there aren’t as many of those Paxlovid prescriptions as there might be.
In fact, the drug is “vastly” underprescribed, national data suggest. And with a winter surge underway, that is likely costing patients unnecessary hospitalizations and even deaths.
Some likely culprits: Time and confusion. Screening everyone who qualifies for Paxlovid would take too much time and effort. And without study, many medical workers still aren’t sure who qualifies.
